Broadband Internet connections, e.g., digital subscriber line (DSL) connections, asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) connections, cable connections, etc., are extremely popular. However, from a service provider perspective, the expenses associated with supporting broadband service can be relatively high. The expense is largely due to the lack of maturity of the technology and the manner in which computer operating systems handle broadband connectivity. Due to the high cost of support, a variety of software programs for supporting broadband connectivity have been developed. These software programs include programs that are installed on a user computer to aid in diagnosing and fixing problems without requiring a costly call to a customer service help desk at service provider. Further, when diagnosing and fixing problems with a broadband connection, these software programs typically rely on information that is obtained only by the computer and not on information that can be obtained by other equipment in the network.